Night Shift
by Empress-Eerian-Sadow
Summary: rudeelena elena gets a surprising letter while working the night shift at HQ


_this is my entry for the current contest over at the turks fanclub over on deviantart. the contest hasn't ended yet, but as far as i know, this is the only entry. wish me luck! (good luck preferably)_

* * *

Elena slumped down into her chair completely drained. The constant chase that AVALANCHE and Sephiroth were leading them on was wearing her—and all the other Turks—well past the brink of exhaustion.

The blond wanted nothing more than to go to sleep for about a month. So, of course, she was pulling a double shift today, and escorting Scarlet from Midgar to Junon tomorrow.

It was just not her week.

She hated being the "Turk On Call" as they referred to it at the office. The one Turk that stayed all night and took any emergency calls that might come up through the course of the overnight shift. She hadn't done it until recently though, when the full time overnight Turk was killed on a call. His life had been eventful enough, apparently, but she found the job to be damned boring.

With a tired sigh, she looked down at the paperwork laying on her desk. She wasn't in the mood to do any of it, but it would help keep her awake to be busy.

She'd filled out two rather long report forms when she found the plain white envelope. It was business sized, and of the kind that anyone in the building might have tucked away in a desk drawer. It didn't have an address on it, or even her name. Curious, she opened it and pulled out a neatly folded sheet of computer print out.

_Elena,_

_Words cannot describe_

_The emotion that has flared in my heart for you_

_Words cannot express_

_Everything you have come to mean to me_

_You came_

_At an unexpected time_

_With your youth_

_Excitement_

_Idealism_

_Hopes_

_Beauty_

_I hated you for that_

_In time_

_I grew to love those things_

_You taught me_

_To be young again_

_To feel the excitement of our lives_

_That ideals weren't a bad thing_

_And that hope often kept you though the night_

_And that beauty must be fully appreciated_

_I can only hope_

_That you read this and smile_

_That you do not hate me_

_That you can let me love you from afar_

_For_

_I am certain_

_That you could never love me back_

_Though you hold my heart forever_

The poem wasn't signed, and since it was typed, she had no idea who it was from. She wondered if she'd be able to look at her co-workers in the morning without asking if they knew who had left it for her.

A hint of blue in her doorway made her look up to see Rude standing there.

"I came to let you know I was going home," he told her.

"Thanks," she replied. "Hey, have you got a second first?"

The bald man nodded and walked over to her desk. She handed him the poem.

"Do you have any idea who left this for me?"

He nodded again.

"Really? Who?" She wasn't entirely surprised. Rude saw nearly everything that happened in this building, despite those ever-present sunglasses.

"I can't say." Rude turned to walk away.

Elena looked at him for a moment with suddenly knowing eyes. "It was you, wasn't it?"

He froze mid-step. "I didn't think you'd figure it out."

"Well, it was either you or Tseng; Reno's grammar isn't this good." She got up from her desk and walked over to him. "Is it true?"

"Yeah."

"I'm flattered. Really."

"Is that all?" Even without being able to see his eyes, she thought Rude looked hurt.

"I don't know. No one's ever just poured out their heart to me like that before. Its almost surreal."

Without warning, Rude put a hand on either of her cheeks and pulled her mouth to his for a kiss. When they broke apart, he asked, "Is that real enough for you?"

Elena was a bit breathless. That was far from her first kiss, but it was the first with that much feeling behind it. "Yeah…"

He let go of her face and stepped back from her. "I have to go. Tseng said something about sending me to Junon with Scarlet instead of you, so that you could get some sleep."

As he was walking to the door, she surprised herself by saying, "I'm free Wednesday, if you want to get together."

"I'd like that."


End file.
